Cecil was always going to be concerned with hurting others because of something he couldn’t control, it wouldn’t had been very good of him to give away his machina identity either if something hit him and he didn’t even flinch but whatever hit him was broken on the ground. He was very aware of everything that could give him away down to people accidentally bumping him and feeling nothing but metal under his clothing and his body being cold to the touch. He had been actively avoiding contact with others for the months he’d been active for and wasn’t going to cut it out and calm down just because he was getting comfortable in his setting. He remembered when he was asked how he lost his legs one time, but that was the extent that it went to as everything else about him just made him out to look like a traveller who had geared himself up for fighting off thieves and what not.

“I know! I’m not stupid!” Cecil spoke quickly, almost angry by Norman’s doubt over his intelligence. He was highly aware of what an enemy would do, but this was a test and not an actual situation where he would automatically be ready, especially after testing the shield to know that it definitely works. He felt like he was being talked down to just because he looked like a child. Making sure his shield was back up and going to be able to run properly he readied himself again, groaning lightly. He was certain his shield was going to be able to hold up against tougher and heavier attacks from Norman, but he had to make sure and hope that he wasn’t going to end up breaking the shield and having to get a new one made up for him. He was worried he was going to cause it to break by asking for tougher attacks, but after the last battle he wanted to make sure just how tough the attacks could be and what he could hold his own against. Keeping his position with the shield up he waited for Norman to start firing stuff at him, gasping when something hit the barrier causing it to make a reaction. It was startling, but it didn’t bring the shield down at least. “I…guess it was okay…I-I’m ready for tougher things! And don’t be mean to me this time! I’m smarter than I look with these things! I was made for combat…”

--

Kensen was particularly bored with the usual song and dance in this training regime stuff, even if it was quite important that they received good training. He had gone through it all before back when he first arrived and was mostly reflecting on what he learned during that time and applying it to both Nymira and Ethan. It wasn’t that he was bored of teaching them, he had just done it all before and doing the same thing over and over again just made him feel weary. It was probably going to get better the further along in their training they were, but they weren’t showing any particular signs of high improvement. They still had a long way to go and if he was to keep interest in this he would need to switch up the training a little bit. Ethan was just being lazy and not bothering to do much, probably thinking that wind was pretty useless to know. That was quite stupid if he did think that, wind could cause someone to lose absolute control over their actions and even throw attacks back at another, nevermind allowing speed and high jumps and all that. Ethan was just being lazy at this point.

Getting a little annoyed at how Nymira was treating her practice targets he let out an annoyed sigh before he took notice of Amuné, looking down at her when she gave his clothing a tug. What did she want? She hadn’t exactly spoken to him other than rage at him for her telling her off for being prejudice. Narrowing his gaze at her he adjusted his goggles, waiting for her to ask her question. If she wasn’t going to ask something he was just going to ignore her, but eventually she did ask her question which just brought back memories of the children of Mutebo trying to pull his wings. At least this was with permission first, so getting mad over that wasn’t going to happen. “…Alright. Just don’t tug, injuries take a while to heal”. He recalled the last time his wings were torn to shreds, a memory that wasn’t entirely too pleasant for him.

Folding his arms he let out a sigh as she began to touch them, finding it not all too pleasant to say the least. It was like someone gently touching your arm, to say the least. Looking to her when she cut it out finally he frowned, listening to her blab on about kites and magic. “Hmm, you can make a kite for gliding and use it without magic, you just need to be high up enough…” he spoke, looking away again. “Flying can be exhausting, though. I mostly just use wind magic to keep myself afloat for long distances. It’s like running without feeling anything below your feet but the weight is in your back”. He didn’t really know a life without being able to fly, even the youngest of his clan could learn how to use their wings once they knew they had them. It was just one of those things, just like how she was aware of her ability to walk when she was younger.

Hearing Ethan starting his yelping he sighed and looked off towards the commotion, seeing everything already out of control just from him looking away for a few moments. These two were supposed to be near the same age as him and yet they were acting like idiots. Either way, that dummy was going to need to be replaced and those things were a pain to make. Rubbing his neck, he looked to Nymira who decided to approach him, not without throwing a casual insult. She really did lack social skills, it was a wonder that she would even be considered a diplomat for her people. Staring at her as he expected something about him going back to her clan or whatever he instead stared at her blade, feeling a little curious as to why she was being so casual about a problem. She was trying to hide her pride for sure, but it wasn’t a big deal to him as much as it probably was to her. 

Groaning lightly he reached back, pulling out one of his kunai. “If your blade isn’t able to take the heat then there’s not much you can do about it other than get a stronger metal. Normal blades won’t be able to handle heat for very long unless you plan on carrying around a bunch of temporary weapons. Maybe you should spend the time you have here to make stronger weapons”, he spoke, spinning it on his finger before holding it tight, his magic causing it to set aflame momentarily before it died down into a steady heat. “You’ve got to learn how to control the temperature through emotion during battle. Feeling too high strung and angry at your opponent will just cause your flame to be unstable, so instead try and remain focus! Fire magic isn’t only about fire and throwing it around, you should be able to control the temperature of your body and something you hold. I could make my own nails hot and burn my opponent if I wanted with the level of control I have. You’ve just got to focus on not causing something to combust.”